The veteran: 41-year-old Schilling has struggled but seems to be improving

Tuesday

Sep 25, 2007 at 12:01 AMSep 25, 2007 at 2:00 AM

It took a couple of years, but the famed bloody sock may have forced Curt Schilling to become a new pitcher. Long a power guy with the ability to mix in some well-placed breaking balls, Schilling spent the entire 2005 post-championship season trying to recover from his November 2004 surgery. Then, after getting his bearings the following season, he has settled into life as a 41-year-old.

Mike Fine

It took a couple of years, but the famed bloody sock may have forced Curt Schilling to become a new pitcher. Long a power guy with the ability to mix in some well-placed breaking balls, Schilling spent the entire 2005 post-championship season trying to recover from his November 2004 surgery. Then, after getting his bearings the following season, he has settled into life as a 41-year-old.

As he heads into the playoffs, he’s still trying to find himself as his contract with the Red Sox runs out.

“I am changing just about everything I do, mentally and physically, to prepare and perform,” the right-hander said on a recent blog. “A lot of it is new to me and will be things that I am not comfortable putting out there. If I can figure out a way to make that happen, then I will definitely do them again.”

What Schilling has found since returning from a near two-month absence with a tired shoulder, is that he’s simply not as consistent as he once was, that he cannot dominate any longer and that he can no longer get away with mistakes. That’s something that’s plagued him late in the season, especially during his much-hyped meeting with Roger Clemens in the Sept. 16 game with the Yankees at Fenway Park. In that one, Schilling gave up a solo home run to Robinson Cano and a three-run shot by Derek Jeter. The Sox lost, 4-3.

“I don’t question whether I can be a really good pitcher and be successful and win,” Schilling said, adding that crucial mistakes such as those (the home run pitch to Jeter was high and away when it was supposed to be a split into the dirt) are unacceptable. “That’s not something I can do anymore. I can’t overthrow the ball late in the game. I can’t overthrow my fastball, much less my breaking ball, in big spots. It’s about executing pitches.

“This is an incredibly painful way to have to learn a lesson that you’ve already learned and you already know, but it’s just reinforcement.”

Nevertheless, Schilling seemed to be improving as the regular season was winding down.

“I think we’re getting better,” he said, referring to himself. “I’m becoming a little more comfortable in my own skin, I guess. I’m still working to tweak and fine-tune things to get better.”

Perhaps, what bugged him more than anything, was his inability to get deep into games.

“As a starting pitcher, you can’t get upset about not winning ballgames, for whatever reason, if you don’t get into the seventh and eighth (innings). If you leave a third of the game to the bullpen, it’s a tough one to manage.”

Sox manager Terry Francona will have to depend on Schilling as his second or third pitcher during any playoff run. He understands what Schilling is going through, how when he was ailing during his last start in Atlanta before going on the DL, he was looking at the radar gun, seeing it register in the 80s and trying to throw even harder, at the cost of control. “Hitters usually let you know if you’re throwing hard enough or not,” said the manager.

Francona likens Schilling’s struggles to many pitchers who are aging and facing a loss of velocity.

“Yeah. The guys that are really good, there’s other reasons they’re really good besides their stuff. It’s hard to be good for a long time and not have an idea how to pitch and how to compete and have a heart and things like that. A good arm’s nice, but I don’t know that that lasts forever if you don’t have the other attributes.”

Schilling has begun to rely more on a changeup this season, with varying results, but everything is set up by a fastball - one that locates well. “When he commands his fastball very well, he’s going to have success,” the manager said. “I think you could almost tell people what’s coming. When you command your fastball, you’re not going to get hit real hard. If you command your fastball, you can survive.”

The subplot in Schilling’s late-season struggles to survive is that his contract is expiring, he’s 41 years old, and he’ll finish the regular season somewhere around the .500 mark.

He wants to remain in Boston, but price will be a huge factor. What could determine his future will be his playoff performance, which will be set up by his late-season work.